MDOS+TIPI Step by step help needed!

[Nick99]

Dear Geneve friends,

 

As the title says, I'm looking for a step by step instruction on how to get my Geneve to load MDOS 7.30 from my TIPI (I guess it is a similar procedure to make it load from IDE?).

I have read all the information available but have a hard time to really understand the process.

 

My system contains of:

 

Geneve boot eprom v.2.0 

32K upgrade.

TI-disk controller with to drives.

IDE card.

TIPI card.

 

The IDE and TIPI cards have the CRU set to the values that are mentioned in the other threads.

I can without problem load MDOS 7.30 from disk.

I did however notice after putting SYSTEM-SYS on the TIPI root that my Geneve freezes after the TIPI light flashes a couple of times, so I assume this is not the way to get MDOS to load.

 

All help is welcome and awarded with lots of thanks!

/Niklas

 

 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

@9640News the above sounds similar to what happened when I removed the HFDC from a TIPI+Geneve system.  I am not sure if the Geneve's EPROM was 0.99 or 2.00 but after I reinstalled the HFDC, I could again boot from the TIPI.

[+9640News]

@Nick99

 

Going to need to confirm you are at >1800 with the TIPI?  Are you able to boot from some device with MDOS 7.30 and do a directory on TIP1. ?

 

Next, need you to confirm SYSTEM-SYS is named as such with a dash, not a slash, at the root level of your TIPI.  You also need to have TIP1.LOAD-TIP at the root path as well. Your first post does not indicate whether you placed the LOAD-TIP file at root level.

 

Finally, does the TIPI LED stay lit, or does it turn off after it flashes?

 

My last concern is that you should use TIDIR and catalog your files at the root level.  Confirm the file shows as a TIFILES header and does not identify as a V9T9 file.  V9T9 header files will not work.  I occasionally make that mistake myself and discover a file I moved across has the wrong header.

Beery

[WhataKowinkydink]

1 hour ago, 9640News said:

I occasionally make that mistake myself and discover a file I moved across has the wrong header.

An easy mistake to make for sure.

[Nick99]

Ok, it was something wrong with the SYSTEM-SYS when transfered to TIPI, on the web ui it said SYSTEM4f%SYS, did use TI-Disk Manager and exported SYSTEM-SYS as a TIFILES and my Geneve now load MDOS from TIPI. ???

 

Next thing is to find out how to go from A: to whatever TIPI is called, and from there try to load some programs.

[Nick99]

The happiness didn't last long, I tried the command PI.STATUS and the computer freezed, rebooted and it load from TIPI but when it is finished and the dos prompt should show up the screen turns black.

I tried to boot from disk and same thing happened until I removed the TIPI card, then it load MDOS properly from disk and the A: prompt show up.

 

I have rebooted the PI but no change.

 

What can have happened?

[+dhe]

do you have a 99/4a you can hook it to a prove everything - card/pi/sd drive?

have you had a peak at the various logs on the pi?

[+jedimatt42]

If PI.STATUS is an MDOS command, that is unfortunate, cause the TIPI has a special DV80 file called PI.STATUS. 

 

I would guess MDOS might have thought it was a shell script... It would have looked like setting a bunch of variables... Or if MDOS tried to load it as a binary, it would have just been some serious garbage instructions. Other than the battery backed clock on the Geneve, I would have expected a simple power cycle to restore things... 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

I'm guessing MDOS tried to execute PI.STATUS as a batch file which should have generated a bunch of errors as MDOS tried to execute each line in the status file. Use TSTAT (program released elsewhere that provides for update/status/halt functionality) or just type "TYPE PI.STATUS" tosee the special file.  I will try the same from my Geneve tonight. 

 

As for the black screen of death, it may be related to the boot EPROM or some other issue.  Is your TIPI set to CRU >1800? 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

Here is what should happen at the command line: 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

And here is an example of the TSTAT program (type TSTAT ? for help) showing an update pending. 

 

[Nick99]

8 hours ago, InsaneMultitasker said:

I'm guessing MDOS tried to execute PI.STATUS as a batch file which should have generated a bunch of errors as MDOS tried to execute each line in the status file. Use TSTAT (program released elsewhere that provides for update/status/halt functionality) or just type "TYPE PI.STATUS" tosee the special file.  I will try the same from my Geneve tonight. 

 

As for the black screen of death, it may be related to the boot EPROM or some other issue.  Is your TIPI set to CRU >1800? 

My TIPI is set to CRU >1800.

 

I will connect my TI to see if the TIPI work as it should.

 

[+9640News]

On 5/20/2022 at 5:23 PM, jedimatt42 said:

If PI.STATUS is an MDOS command, that is unfortunate, cause the TIPI has a special DV80 file called PI.STATUS. 

 

I would guess MDOS might have thought it was a shell script... It would have looked like setting a bunch of variables... Or if MDOS tried to load it as a binary, it would have just been some serious garbage instructions. Other than the battery backed clock on the Geneve, I would have expected a simple power cycle to restore things... 

"PI" is a device, and "STATUS" is whatever is returned from the TIPI.

 

In equivalent terms, it would have been just like typing at the prompt DSK1.STATUS and it executing the file (if one existed on that device) as either a batch file if it was D/V 80 or a program image file if it was a MDOS program image file.

 

Beery

[Nick99]

Ok, I have now built the 838-PEB and moved my Geneve, TIPI and IDE card (not the TI-disk controller at this point) to this new PEB.

I have successfully got it to boot MDOS from the TIPI.

 

So, now, after reading the MDOS thread and still don't understand how to go from A: to actually load anything from the TIPI?

 

Niklas

 

[+9640News]

2 hours ago, Nick99 said:

Ok, I have now built the 838-PEB and moved my Geneve, TIPI and IDE card (not the TI-disk controller at this point) to this new PEB.

I have successfully got it to boot MDOS from the TIPI.

 

So, now, after reading the MDOS thread and still don't understand how to go from A: to actually load anything from the TIPI?

 

Niklas

 

In your AUTOEXEC file, add the following:

 

ASSIGN E=TIP1:

 

This will assign drive letter E to TIP1.  You can now access the TIPI as a device at drive letter E:\

 

 

[+9640News]

You can also use the REMAP command to map DSK1, DSK2, DSK3, DSK4, and DSK0 devices of the TIPI to drive letters

 

REMAP 5V  (TIPI DSK0 also as TIP1) to DSK5.

REMAP 6W  (TIPI DSK1 mapped folder)

REMAP 7X   (TIPI DSK2 mapped folder)

REMAP 8Y   (TIPI DSK3 mapped folder)

REMAP 9Z   (TIPI DSK4 mapped folder)

 

 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

The REMAP command assigns a physical device to a DSKx number 1-9.   If you want to associate a drive letter with DSKx., use the ASSIGN command. The REMAP and ASSIGN commands have different purposes, be careful not to confuse the two.

 

You can "remap" the TIPI emulated disk drives as @9640News shows above.  You can also remap the TIPI dvices to DSK1-4. 

 

 

[+dhe]

After you boot, type ASSIGN <ENTER> and then REMAP <ENTER> and let us see what you get.

Along with the TYPE PI.STATUS AND TSTAT commands.

That would help a lot.

 

[Nick99]

Many thanks for your help @9640News and @InsaneMultitasker! 🤩

 

@dhe, I get the following results:

 

ASSIGN

 

A: DSK1

B: DSK2

C : DSK3

D : DSK4

E: TIP1 (I assigned that before checking this, so it might have been something else there before)

F: HDS2

G: HDS3

H: SCS1

I: SCS2

J: SCS3

 

 

REMAP

 

1A

2B

3C

4D

5E

6N

7O

8N

9O

 

TYPE PI.STATUS shows that the TIPI version is 2.37, can I update to 2.40 from MDOS?

 

 

 

[+dhe]

Yes you can upgrade using TSTAT.